Every model name released under the "Oyster" brand

[powerfunk]

During the 1930's-40's, when Rolex still had an agreement with Gruen not to sell Aegler-based watches in North America, the Rolex Watch Company was doing some interesting branding experimentation in Canada. All the watches sold in Canada during this time had a "Rolex Caliber 59" movement, which is actually just a finished Fontainemelon FHF30 movement.

The watches were almost all 30-32mm, and despite there only being a handful of references (3478 and 3121f were the most common, along with 3136, 3351f, etc.) there were countless names used. Brands used included Rolex, Tudor, Neptune, Aqua/Solar Aqua/Lund & Blockley Aqua, and Oyster.

This post is about the models released under the Oyster brand. Note that the model names don't exactly correlate to a reference; they seemingly put whatever dials into whatever cases they felt like.

The 21 brand names I came across are: Marconi, Rolco, Unicorn, Essex, Explorer, Lincoln, Edison, Grenfell, Centregraph, Lipton, Lady Dudley, Junior Sport, Raleigh, Commander, Recorda, Chester, Regent, Shipmate, Pioneer, Extra Prima, and simply Oyster.

Princeton Oyster and Oyster Birks etc. I believe are co-signed by retailers; those aren't model names. "Extra prima" is also arguably not a model name and is akin to, say, "Super Precision" branding but I'll count it. The most confusing to me are the Marconi, Rolco, and Unicorn--all 3 of those names were used as brand names by RWC as well. Is it an Oyster Marconi or a Marconi Oyster?

Anyway, click here for the imgur album or scroll for pics of all these models:

Plain Oyster:


Oyster Extra Prima:


Oyster Marconi:


Oyster Rolco:


Oyster Unicorn:


Oyster Explorer:


Oyster Essex:


Oyster Lady Dudley:


Oyster Pioneer:


Oyster Shipmate:


Oyster Regent:


Oyster Chester:


Oyster Recorda:


Oyster Commander:


Oyster Raleigh:


Oyster Junior Sport:


Oyster Lipton:


Oyster Centregraph:


Oyster Grenfell:


Oyster Edison:


Oyster Lincoln:


If I've overlooked any Oyster watches please let me know.

[yoniman]

Wow!
Thanks for posting.
Are some of these for sale?

cheers

[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by yoniman

Wow!
Thanks for posting.
Are some of these for sale?

cheers

I believe at least a few are still on edmontonwatchclub.com or watchestobuy.com

[Old Expat Beast]

Thanks for another great thread Rob. I shouldn't have sold my Chester www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=477498

Oyster watches were on sale in Singapore and probably elsewhere in Asia too. in the 1930s and 40s.

Here's an ad from the Straits Times from 1937...note the name on the dial.

[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Thanks for another great thread Rob. I shouldn't have sold my Chester www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=477498

Oyster watches were on sale in Singapore and probably elsewhere in Asia too. in the 1930s and 40s.

Here's an ad from the Straits Times from 1937...note the name on the dial.

Thanks; that's awesome! Looks like "Extra Prima" to me. I didn't realize they were in Singapore too, interesting

[Old Expat Beast]

Singapore must have been one of the first Empire outposts to get Rolex watches. The oldest mention I found in the news archives there was from 1923: https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=478802

[prettychaos]

Impressive research!

[Scottydoesntknow]

This seems like a thread that someone may know the answer for me.
My dad has an all gold dressy style Rolex that says Oyster on the front. There is no “Perpetual” at all on it and I cannot figure out what this version is. Everything I see online is of course “oyster perpetual”. The band is all gold and is like a mesh material, so the whole thing flexes. The clasp had a 4 digit number, but I didn’t think to write it down. The back of the bezel doesn’t have anything on it at all.
Thanks for your time.

[anona]

Hello, i discovered another Oyster, the Junior Sport.

I found it beacuse i juste dicovered my grandfather's whatch and it's a Rolex Oyster from 30s.
I can't find a picture of the same model online, but i found the Oyster Juniot Sport on a sale website and it is EXACTLY the same, only the inscriptions on the dial which are "Rolex Oyster" and the Rolex logo on mine and not "Oyster Junior Sport" on the one i found on internet...

I will open a topic on it, but for the moment, i can't post any external link so can't upload photos...

[powerfunk]

Sport Aqua:

[The_Walrus]

Great info, thanks for the post

[tanglefoot]

great post, thanks a bunch.

[Whorologist]

As a newbie to this forum, I think that I may have an additional variant to add, the Tudor Oyster, ladies 23mm which I believe dates to 1942. Although in gold this uses the same 3640 case. I was so surprised to see this variation that I bought it, but I wasn’t sure originally whether it was a fake. I cannot find another example of a Tudor of this period with the same type face or without the rose/shield emblem. I would be grateful if anyone knows of another.

It seems that Rolex/Wilsdorf used the war as a kind of scattergun approach to brands and branding, putting so many different varieties of what is ostensibly the same watch into the market, presumably to see what worked and what didn’t. It would be interesting to understand the reasoning behind this if anyone knows?

[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by Whorologist

As a newbie to this forum, I think that I may have an additional variant to add, the Tudor Oyster, ladies 23mm which I believe dates to 1942.

Cool! That's a neat pickup. Ref. 3640 is usually under the Oyster brand as you noted, but Wilsdorf was toying with different brands and this appears to be one of the earlier attempts at trying out the "Tudor" brand (there are a few Tudors from the 1930's but the brand didn't really get rolling until the mid-late 1940's).

Originally Posted by Whorologist

I cannot find another example of a Tudor of this period with the same type face or without the rose/shield emblem. I would be grateful if anyone knows of another.

This font is not uncommon on "Canadian" Rolex/Oyster watches from around 1940, although most won't say Tudor. In Canada in the 1940's, Rolex released a bunch of watches under the Rolex and Oyster brands (and a few under Tudor and even some random brands like Neptune, Buick, and Victory) using Fontainemelon movements (because their agreement with Gruen still didn't allow Rolex to use their preferred Aegler movements in North America). Most later "Canadian" Tudors had the rose-in-shield logo. I put "Canadian" in quotes because while they are mostly known for being sold in Canada, they also appeared in Singapore and other UK Commonwealth countries, and obviously they're still Swiss-made.

Originally Posted by Whorologist

It seems that Rolex/Wilsdorf used the war as a kind of scattergun approach to brands and branding, putting so many different varieties of what is ostensibly the same watch into the market, presumably to see what worked and what didn’t.

Oh yes, yes he did. Ref. 3478 was a "Canadian" Rolex model released under no less than ten different brandings for example. Rolex was a strong brand by the 1940's, but Wilsdorf always wanted another lower-priced brand and he kept swinging and missing with those until Tudor finally stuck and the other experimental brands faded away.

[Lochie1]

Oyster Royal

I have a photo but I’m new and only have a few posts therefore cannot upload (need 10 posts)


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[Lochie1]

Edit: deleted

[Texharp]

I may have a new Oyster variant or could use yalls help in figuring out what model this is anyhow. My father recently passed and he was a prolific collector, including watches. My brothers and I inherited a Rolex for each of us from his collection, but we also found an older Rolex in one of his safes. Is this an Oyster, perhaps redialed “Rolex Oyster”, or a completely different model, or…?


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[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by Texharp

I may have a new Oyster variant or could use yalls help in figuring out what model this is anyhow. My father recently passed and he was a prolific collector, including watches. My brothers and I inherited a Rolex for each of us from his collection, but we also found an older Rolex in one of his safes. Is this an Oyster, perhaps redialed “Rolex Oyster”

Very cool heirloom. Does the caseback say 3478 or anything at all? Unfortunately, because of the fully redone dial there's no way to really tell what was on the dial originally. Most likely it probably just said "Oyster" but it's possible it said Rolex Oyster or Tudor Oyster or Oyster (Insert Name Here).

[Texharp]

Originally Posted by powerfunk

Very cool heirloom. Does the caseback say 3478 or anything at all? Unfortunately, because of the fully redone dial there's no way to really tell what was on the dial originally. Most likely it probably just said "Oyster" but it's possible it said Rolex Oyster or Tudor Oyster or Oyster (Insert Name Here).

I’ll have to open the case next time I’m at their house and report back on what movement.
My vote is it said “oyster” prior as well.
Either way, neat watch to stumble across! I never knew he had that one.


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[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by powerfunk

Very cool heirloom. Does the caseback say 3478 or anything at all? Unfortunately, because of the fully redone dial there's no way to really tell what was on the dial originally. Most likely it probably just said "Oyster" but it's possible it said Rolex Oyster or Tudor Oyster or Oyster (Insert Name Here).

Looks like a complete fake to me, Rob.

[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Looks like a complete fake to me, Rob.

Well that's certainly possible. I will say the case and hands look "right" to me. Looks like a Skyrocket or some other similar 1940's Canadian non-Oyster. And I believe those were offered in sterling silver which would explain the corrosion. But you could be right!

[Texharp]

Originally Posted by powerfunk

Well that's certainly possible. I will say the case and hands look "right" to me. Looks like a Skyrocket or some other similar 1940's Canadian non-Oyster. And I believe those were offered in sterling silver which would explain the corrosion. But you could be right!

Knowing my father, he was a stickler for ensuring his watches were authentic before purchasing , but sure, maybe someone duped him. Is it the case that doesn’t look right? We already acknowledged the dial looks redone for sure. Not much else to look at to say fake or real until I get back to their house to open the case and see the movement. Will report back!


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[powerfunk]

Originally Posted by Texharp

Is it the case that doesn’t look right?

Well it has a non-Oyster crown but I'm starting to think it's just a non-Oyster model. If you look at the caseback, is it a scalloped 16-sided shape? Like this one. If so, I'd presume it's legit. But definitely let us know how the insides turn out!